understanding of and support for national public health objectives. The committee urges Congress to preserve its customary support for public health advocacy.

Although it is difficult to quantify the total extent of government, community, and private-sector endeavors in the injury field, there is a wide range of ongoing efforts, many of which have begun or expanded within the past 20 years. Although the current response is impressive, it is also fragmented. A core injury prevention program is needed in each state that can implement (and assist other agencies and organizations in implementing) injury prevention interventions. State injury prevention programs require a sustained federal commitment to funding and to providing technical assistance to the states. Further, training opportunities for state and local injury prevention practitioners should be expanded. Beyond the public health arena, numerous safety organizations and agencies have an important role to play in injury prevention efforts. Collaboration between state agencies and coalition building, particularly at the local level, are crucial for addressing injury prevention.

As new prevention interventions are developed and evaluated, ongoing information exchange between researchers and practitioners is needed that will facilitate the implementation of new interventions and the refinement of these interventions to meet real-world demands. A final component of strengthening the state and local response is raising public awareness and increasing advocacy efforts. Both the general public and policy makers need information on the effectiveness of injury prevention measures in order to make informed decisions and choices.

BIA (Brain Injury Association). 1998. 1996–1997 Annual Report. Washington, DC: BIA.

California Department of Health Services. State Injury Control Advisory Task Force. 1992. Strategic Plan for Injury Prevention and Control in California, 1993–1997. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Health Services.

Cochrane Collaboration. 1998. The Cochrane Collaboration. [World Wide Web document]. URL http://hiru.hirunet.mcmaster.ca/cochrane/ (accessed June 1998).

Craig A, Tremblay-McGaw R, McLoughlin E. 1998. Injury prevention in the information age: The Injury and Violence Prevention Library. Injury Prevention 4(2):150–154.

Dana AJ, Gallagher SS, Vince CJ. 1990. Survey of Injury Prevention Curricula in Schools of Public Health. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, October 2, 1990, New York City. Newton, MA: Education Development Center.